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Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. In 1937, anticipating Nazi aggression leading to World War II, Lewis sold American Decca and the link between the U.K. and U.S. Decca labels was broken for several decades. The British label was renowned for its development of recording methods, while the American company developed the concept of cast albums in the musical genre. Both wings are now part of the Universal Music Group. The U.S. Decca label was the foundation company that evolved into UMG (Universal Music Group).


Label name

The name dates back to a portable
gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
called the "Decca Dulcephone" patented in 1914 by musical instrument makers Barnett Samuel and Sons. The name "Decca" was coined by Wilfred S. Samuel by merging the word " Mecca" with the initial D of their logo "Dulcet" or their trademark "Dulcephone". Samuel, a linguist, chose "Decca" as a brand name as it was easy to pronounce in most languages. That company was eventually renamed the Decca Gramophone Co. Ltd. and then sold to former stockbroker Edward Lewis in 1929. Within years, Decca Records was the second largest record label in the world, calling itself "The Supreme Record Company". Decca bought the UK branch of Brunswick Records and continued to run it under that name. In the 1950s, the American Decca studios were located in the Pythian Temple in New York City.


Classical music

In classical music, Decca had a long way to go from its modest beginnings to catch up with the established HMV and
Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
labels (later merged as EMI). The pre-war classical repertoire on Decca was not extensive, but was select. The 3-disc 1929 recording of
Delius Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted atte ...
's ''Sea Drift'', arising from the Delius Festival that year, suffered by being crammed onto six sides, being indifferently recorded and expensive; following issue in July they were already withdrawn by October the same year.Decca monthly record supplements However, it won Decca the loyalty of the
baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
Roy Henderson, who went on to record for them the first complete '' Dido and Aeneas'' of Purcell with Nancy Evans and the
Boyd Neel Louis Boyd Neel O.C. (19 July 190530 September 1981) was an English, and later Canadian conductor and academic. He was Dean of the Royal Conservatory of Music at the University of Toronto. Neel founded and conducted chamber orchestras, and cont ...
ensemble (Purcell Club, 14 sides, issued February 1936); and Henderson's famous pupil Kathleen Ferrier was recorded and issued by Decca through the period of transition from 78 to LP (1946–1952). Heinrich Schlusnus made important pre-war
lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...
er recordings for Decca. Decca's emergence as a major classical label may be attributed to three concurrent events: the emphasis on technical innovation (first the development of the full frequency range recording frrtechnique, then the early use of stereo recording), the introduction of the long-playing record, and the recruitment of
John Culshaw John Royds Culshaw, OBE (28 May 192427 April 1980) was a pioneering English classical record producer for Decca Records. He produced a wide range of music, but is best known for masterminding the first studio recording of Wagner's ''Der Ring ...
to Decca's London office. Decca released the stereo recordings of Ernest Ansermet conducting L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, including, in 1959, the first complete stereo LP recording of '' The Nutcracker'', as well as Ansermet's only stereo version of Manuel de Falla's '' The Three-Cornered Hat'', which the conductor had led at its first performance in 1919.
John Culshaw John Royds Culshaw, OBE (28 May 192427 April 1980) was a pioneering English classical record producer for Decca Records. He produced a wide range of music, but is best known for masterminding the first studio recording of Wagner's ''Der Ring ...
, who joined Decca in 1946 in a junior post, rapidly became a senior producer of classical recordings. He revolutionised recording – of opera, in particular. Hitherto, the practice had been to put microphones in front of the performers and simply record what they performed. Culshaw was determined to make recordings that would be 'a theatre of the mind', making the listener's experience at home not merely second best to being in the opera house, but a wholly different experience. To that end he got the singers to move about in the studio as they would onstage, used discreet sound effects and different acoustics, and recorded in long continuous takes. His skill, coupled with Decca's sound engineering capabilities, took the label into the first flight of recording companies. His pioneering recording (begun in 1958) of Wagner's '' Der Ring des Nibelungen'' conducted by
Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...
was a huge artistic and commercial success (to the chagrin of other companies). Solti recorded throughout his career for Decca, and made more than 250 recordings, including 45 complete opera sets. Among the international honours given Solti (and Decca) for his recordings were 31
Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
awards – more than any other recording artist, whether classical or popular."Solti, Georg"
Decca Classics. Retrieved 22 February 2012
In the wake of Decca's lead, artists such as Herbert von Karajan,
Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. She possessed ...
and later
Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
were keen to join the label's roster. However, Culshaw was, strictly speaking, not the first to do this. In 1951, Columbia Records executive Goddard Lieberson partnered with Broadway conductor
Lehman Engel A. Lehman Engel (born September 14, 1910, Jackson, Mississippi - died August 29, 1982, New York City) was an American composer and conductor of Broadway musicals, television and film. Work in theatre, television and films Engel worked in a variety ...
to record a series of previously unrecorded Broadway musical scores for Columbia Masterworks, including what Engel, in his book ''The American Musical Theatre: A Consideration'', termed "Broadway opera", and in 1951, they released the most complete '' Porgy and Bess'' recorded up to that time. Far from being a mere rendering of the score, the 3-LP album set used sound effects to realistically recreate the production as if the listener were watching a stage performance of the work. Until 1947, American Decca issued British Decca classical music recordings. Afterwards, British Decca took over distribution through its new American subsidiary
London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
. American Decca actively re-entered the classical music field in 1950 with distribution deals from Deutsche Grammophon and Parlophone. American Decca began issuing its own classical music recordings in 1956 when Israel Horowitz joined Decca to head its classical music operations. To further American Decca's dedication to serious music, in August 1950, Rackmill announced the release of a new series of disks to be known as the "Decca Gold Label Series" which was to be devoted to "symphonies, concertos, chamber music, opera, songs and choral music." American and European artists were to be the performers. Among the classical recordings released on Decca's "Gold Label" series were albums by Leroy Anderson, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Max Rudolf and guitarist Andrés Segovia. American Decca shut down its classical music department in 1971. Between 1973 and 1980, Decca championed new music through its ''Headline'' imprint. Works given their recorded premiere included pieces by Peter Maxwell Davies, Harrison Birtwistle, Luciano Berio, Hans Werner Henze, Witold Lutoslawski, Toru Takemitsu, David Bedford, Thea Musgrave, Andrzej Panufnik, Iannis Xenakis,
Brian Ferneyhough Brian John Peter Ferneyhough (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer. Ferneyhough is typically considered the central figure of the New Complexity movement. Ferneyhough has taught composition at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and ...
and
John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...
. Performers included Roger Woodward,
Stomu Yamash'ta Stomu Yamashta (or Yamash'ta), born , is a Japanese percussionist, keyboardist and composer. He is best known for pioneering and popularising a fusion of traditional Japanese percussive music with Western progressive rock music in the 1960s and 1 ...
, Salman Shukur and the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, as well as the composers themselves. For many years, Decca's British classical recordings had been issued in the U.S. under the
London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
label because the existence of the American Decca company precluded the use of that name on British recordings distributed in the U.S. When the MCA and PolyGram labels merged in 1999 and created Universal Music, the practice was no longer necessary. Today Decca makes fewer major classical recordings, but still has a full roster of stars, including Cecilia Bartoli and Renée Fleming. Its back catalogue includes several landmark and critically acclaimed recordings, such as the
Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-serving ...
''Ring'', voted the greatest recording of all time by critics with the ''
BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. History The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC was the original owner and publisher toget ...
'', and
Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
remained an exclusive Decca artist throughout his recording career. In 2017, Universal Music revived Decca's American classical music arm as Decca Gold under the management of
Verve Music Group Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * '' The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee h ...
.


Popular music

In Britain, Decca bought out the bankrupt U.K. branch of Brunswick Records in 1932, which added such stars as
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
and Al Jolson to its roster. Decca also bought out the Melotone and Edison Bell record companies. In late 1934, a United States branch of Decca was launched. In establishing the American unit, the founders bought the former Brunswick Records pressing plants in New York City and Muskegon, Michigan, which were shut down in 1931, from Warner Bros. in exchange for a financial interest in the new label. Decca became a major player in the depressed American record market thanks to its roster of popular artists, particularly
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
, the shrewd management of former US Brunswick general manager Jack Kapp, and the decision to price Decca at 35 cents. The US label also brought back the discontinued Champion label (from Gennett), as well as a short-lived version of the Broadway label. The following year, the pressing and Canadian distribution of U.S. Decca records was licensed to
Compo Company Compo Company Ltd. was Canada's first independent record company. The Compo Company was founded in 1918 in Lachine, Quebec, by Herbert Berliner, an executive of Berliner Gramophone of Canada and the oldest son of disc record inventor Emile Berli ...
Ltd. in Lachine, Quebec, a breakaway and rival of
Berliner Gram-o-phone Berliner Gramophone – its discs identified with an etched-in "E. Berliner's Gramophone" as the logo – was the first (and for nearly ten years the only) disc record label in the world. Its records were played on Emile Berliner's invention, the ...
Co. of Montreal, Quebec. (Compo was acquired by Decca in 1951 although its Apex label continued in production for the next two decades.) By 1939, Decca and EMI were the only record companies in the U.K. That year, British Decca head Edward Lewis sold his interest in American Decca because of World War II. In 1941, American Decca acquired Brunswick Records and its sublabel Vocalion Records from Warner Bros., which had a financial interest in Decca. In 1942, stock in American Decca began trading on the New York Stock Exchange as Decca Records Inc. Therefore, the two Deccas became separate companies and remained so until American Decca's parent company bought British Decca's parent company in 1998 (during this time, US Decca artists were issued in the UK on the Brunswick label until 1968 when MCA Records was launched in the UK). Artists signed to American Decca in the 1930s and 1940s included
Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
, Charlie Kunz, Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, Jane Froman, the Boswell Sisters, Billie Holiday, Katherine Dunham, the Andrews Sisters, Ted Lewis, Judy Garland, The Mills Brothers, Billy Cotton, Guy Lombardo,
Chick Webb William Henry "Chick" Webb (February 10, 1905 – June 16, 1939) was an American jazz and swing music drummer and band leader. Early life Webb was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to William H. and Marie Webb. The year of his birth is disputed. ...
,
Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...
, Bob Crosby, Bill Kenny & the Ink Spots, the Dorsey Brothers (and subsequently Jimmy Dorsey after the brothers split), Connee Boswell and Jack Hylton, Victor Young,
Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...
, Claude Hopkins, Ethel Smith, and
Sister Rosetta Tharpe Sister Rosetta Tharpe (born Rosetta Nubin, March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was an American singer and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her Gospel music, gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spir ...
. In 1940, American Decca released the first album of songs from the 1939 film ''
The Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' or ''The Wizard of Oz'' most commonly refers to: *'' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', a 1900 American novel by L. Frank Baum often reprinted as ''The Wizard of Oz'' ** Wizard of Oz (character), from the Baum novel serie ...
''. However, it was not a soundtrack album but a cover version featuring only Judy Garland from the film, with other roles taken by the Ken Darby Singers. In 1942, American Decca released the first recording of "
White Christmas White Christmas most commonly refers to: * White Christmas (weather), snowfall or snow-covered ground on Christmas Day * "White Christmas" (song), a 1942 song written by Irving Berlin White Christmas may also refer to: Film, television, and the ...
" by
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
. He recorded another version of the song in 1947 for Decca; to this day, Crosby's recording of "White Christmas" for Decca remains the best-selling single worldwide of all time. In 1943, American Decca ushered in the age of the original cast album in the United States, when they released an album set of nearly all the songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein's '' Oklahoma!'', performed by the same cast who appeared in the show on Broadway, and using the show's orchestra, conductor, chorus, and musical and vocal arrangements. The enormous success of this album was followed by original cast recordings of ''
Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
'' and Irving Berlin's '' Annie Get Your Gun'', both featuring members of the original casts of the shows and utilising those shows' vocal and choral arrangements. Because of the technical restrictions of recording on 78 rpm records, none of these scores were recorded totally complete; they were shorter than cast albums made after
LPs LPS may refer to: Science and medicine * Lipopolysaccharide (Endotoxin) * Levator palpebrae superioris muscle Schools * Leighton Park School in Reading, England * Lexington Public Schools, a school district in Massachusetts, USA * Lincoln P ...
were introduced. But Decca had made history by recording Broadway musicals, and the influence of these releases in the recording of theatrical shows in the U.S. continues to this day – in Decca's home country, the UK original cast albums had been a fixture for years.
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
followed with musical theatre albums, starting with the 1946 revival of '' Show Boat''. In 1947,
RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
released the original cast album of '' Brigadoon''. By the 1950s, many recording companies were releasing Broadway show albums recorded by their original casts, and the recording of original cast albums had become standard practice whenever a new show opened. Decca throughout the 1930s and early to mid-1940s was a leading label of blues and jump music with such best selling artists as
Sister Rosetta Tharpe Sister Rosetta Tharpe (born Rosetta Nubin, March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was an American singer and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her Gospel music, gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spir ...
and
Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...
(who was the best selling R&B artist of the 1940s). In 1954, American Decca released "
Rock Around the Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was record ...
" by
Bill Haley & His Comets Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band founded in 1947 that continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...
. Produced by Milt Gabler, the recording was initially only moderately successful, but when it was used as the theme song for the 1955 film ''
Blackboard Jungle ''Blackboard Jungle'' is a 1955 American social drama film about an English teacher in an interracial inner-city school, based on the 1954 novel ''The Blackboard Jungle'' by Evan Hunter and adapted for the screen and directed by Richard Brooks. I ...
'', it became the first international rock and roll hit, and the first such recording to go to No. 1 on the American musical charts. According to the ''
Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'', it went on to sell 25 million copies, returning to the U.S. and U.K. charts several times between 1955 and 1974. But due to management and promotion decisions, Decca lost its place as a major hit label on the U.S. R&B and pop charts as Bill Haley's popularity started to fade, in the late 1950s. Decca's strong country catalogue did very well throughout this period and they had a number of crossover-to-pop hits, as well as the blockbuster success of Brenda Lee, but many R&B and rock music artists passed through Decca with little success (
The Flamingos The Flamingos are an American doo-wop group formed in Chicago in 1953. The band became popular in mid-to-late 1950s and are known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You". They have since been hailed as one of the finest and m ...
, Billy Ward and his Dominoes, Bobby Darin, The Shirelles, etc.) American Decca embraced the new post-war record formats adopting the LP in 1949 and the 45 rpm record around a year later while continuing to sell 78s. During the 1950s, American Decca released a number of soundtrack recordings of popular motion pictures, notably Mike Todd's production of ''
Around the World in Eighty Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...
'' (1956) with the music of veteran film composer Victor Young. Since Decca had access to the stereo tracks of the Oscar-winning film, they quickly released a stereo version in 1958. Because American Decca bought Universal Pictures in 1952, many of these soundtrack albums were of films released by what was then called Universal-International Pictures. In June and July 1957, Decca Records released the soundtracks from
Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions Hecht-Hill-Lancaster was a production company formed by the actor Burt Lancaster in association with his agent, Harold Hecht, and James Hill. In 1948 Lancaster and Hecht formed Norma Productions (named after his wife), which later became Hecht-La ...
' film '' Sweet Smell of Success''. It was a landmark event in the soundtrack industry; the first time that a film had two separate soundtracks, each featuring completely different music. All of the music from ''Sweet Smell of Success'' was published by Calyork Music, a music publishing company founded by the film's producers Harold Hecht and
Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...
, along with Hecht's brother-in-law, established music publisher Loring Buzzell, who secured the releasing of the music through Decca Records. The first soundtrack LP featured the jazz score composed by
Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 origi ...
, while the second soundtrack LP featured music composed and performed by the Chico Hamilton Quintet, a band that appears in the film. In 1961, American Decca released the soundtrack album of '' Flower Drum Song'', Universal Pictures' film version of the 1958 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. In a reversal of the usual situation, in which American Decca had released original Broadway cast albums of three Rodgers and Hammerstein shows, this was the only film soundtrack album of a Rodgers and Hammerstein show ever released by Decca, while the Broadway cast album had been released by Columbia Masterworks. The American RCA label severed its longtime affiliation with EMI's His Master's Voice (HMV) label in 1957, which allowed British Decca to market and distribute Elvis Presley's recordings in the U.K. on the RCA label (later RCA Victor). British Decca had several missed opportunities. In 1960, they refused to release "
Tell Laura I Love Her "Tell Laura I Love Her" is a teenage tragedy song written by Jeff Barry and Ben Raleigh. It was a US top ten popular music hit for singer Ray Peterson in 1960 on RCA Victor Records, reaching No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Later tha ...
" by licensed artist Ray Peterson and even destroyed thousands of copies of the single. In 1962, Decca infamously turned down a chance to record The Beatles, believing "guitar groups are on the way out." Other refusals of note include the Yardbirds, the Kinks, the Who, and Manfred Mann. Decca had earlier accepted London-born pioneer rock'n'roll singer
Terry Dene Terry Dene (born Terence Williams, 20 December 1938) is a British rock music singer popular in the late 1950s and early 60s. He had three Top Twenty hits between June 1957 and May 1958. Career Dene was born in Lancaster Street, Elephant & Cas ...
, who was later known as the British Elvis Presley, and another Merseyside singer, Billy Fury. The turning down of The Beatles led indirectly to the signing of one of Decca's biggest 1960s artists, The Rolling Stones. Dick Rowe was judging a talent contest with
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
, and Harrison mentioned to him that he should take a look at the Stones, who he had just seen live for the first time a couple of weeks earlier. Rowe saw the Stones, and quickly signed them to a contract. Decca also released the first recording of Rod Stewart in 1964, ("Good Morning Little Schoolgirl"/"I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town".) Decca also signed up many rock artists ( The Moody Blues, The Zombies, The Applejacks, Dave Berry, Lulu,
Alan Price Alan Price (born 19 April 1942) is an English musician. He was the original keyboardist for the British band the Animals before he left to form his own band the Alan Price Set. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a m ...
), The Marmalade, with varying degrees of success. Staff producer Hugh Mendl (1919–2008) worked for Decca for over 40 years and played a significant role in its success in the popular field from the 1950s to the late 1970s. His first major production credit was pianist Winifred Atwell. He produced '' Rock Island Line'', the breakthrough skiffle hit for Lonnie Donegan, and he is credited as the first executive to spot the potential of singer-actor Tommy Steele. Mendl's other productions included the first album by humorist Ivor Cutler, ''Who Tore Your Trousers?'' (1961), '' Frankie Howerd at The Establishment'' (1963), a series of recordings with Paddy Roberts (best known for "The Ballad of Bethnal Green"), numerous "original cast" and soundtrack albums including ''
Oh! What a Lovely War ''Oh! What a Lovely War'' is a 1969 British comedy musical war film directed by Richard Attenborough (in his directorial debut), with an ensemble cast, including Maggie Smith, Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud, John Mills, Kenneth More, Laurence Oli ...
'' and even an LP record of the 1966
Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...
24-hour race, inspired by his lifelong passion for motor-racing. Mendl was a driving force in the establishment of Decca's progressive Deram label, most notably as the executive producer of The Moody Blues' groundbreaking 1967 LP '' Days of Future Passed''. He is credited with battling against Decca's notorious parsimonious treatment of their artists, ensuring that the Moody Blues had the time and resources to develop beyond their beat group origins into progressive rock, and he also used profits for pop sales to cross-subsidise recordings by avant garde jazz artists like John Surman. British Decca lost a key source for American records when
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
switched British distribution to Polydor Records in 1966 in order for Atlantic to gain access to British recording artists which they did not have under Decca distribution. The Rolling Stones left Decca in 1970, and other artists followed. Decca's deals with numerous other record labels began to fall apart: RCA Records, for instance, abandoned Decca to set up its own UK office in June 1969, just before the Rolling Stones decided to also abandon Decca in favour of forming their own label. The Moody Blues were the only international rock act that remained on the label. The company's fortunes declined slightly during the 1970s, and it had few major commercial successes; among those were Dana's 1970 two-million selling single, " All Kinds of Everything", issued on their subsidiary label Rex Records. Although Decca had set up the first of the British "progressive" labels, Deram, in 1966, with such stars as Cat Stevens and the Moody Blues, by the time the punk era set in 1977, Decca had pop success with such acts as John Miles, novelty creation Father Abraham and
the Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...
, and productions by longtime Decca associate Jonathan King. King had a hit, "
Everyone's Gone to the Moon "Everyone's Gone to the Moon" is the debut single by British singer-songwriter and record producer Jonathan King. It was released in 1965 while King was still an undergraduate at Cambridge University. All copies of this single, in all territories ...
", on Decca while he was an undergraduate at Trinity College, Cambridge, and Edward Lewis recruited him as his personal assistant and "talent spotter". Decca became dependent on re-releases from its back catalogue. Contemporary signings, such as Slaughter & the Dogs and the pre-stardom Adam and the Ants (whose sole single with Decca, " Young Parisians", would later be a UK Top 10 hit on the back of the band's success at CBS), were second division when compared to the likes of
PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...
, CBS, EMI, and newcomer Virgin's rosters of hitmakers.


Spoken word

American Decca also released several notable spoken word albums, such as a recording of Charles Dickens's ''
A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...
'' starring
Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful Hollywood film career. He wa ...
as Scrooge, and a recording of the Christmas chapter from '' The Pickwick Papers'' read by
Charles Laughton Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future w ...
. These two separate 78-RPM albums were later combined onto one LP. Other spoken word albums included ''Lullaby of Christmas'', narrated by
Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...
, a twenty-minute version of '' Moby Dick'', with Charles Laughton as Captain Ahab, and ''The Littlest Angel'', narrated by Loretta Young. British Decca released on LP, in 1968, the most complete version of ''
Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay ''I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes ...
'' ever put on vinyl records, a 2-LP album featuring most of the dialogue and all of the songs, performed by the show's original London cast. Keith Michell starred as Don Quixote and Cervantes, and
Joan Diener Joan Diener (February 24, 1930 – May 13, 2006) was an American theatre actress and singer with a three-and-a-half-octave range. Early life Born in Columbus, Ohio, Diener majored in psychology at Sarah Lawrence College and moonlighted as ...
was Aldonza/Dulcinea. Around 1970, American Decca enjoyed success with LPS of soundtrack dialogue excerpts from the films of
W.C. Fields WC or wc may refer to: * Water closet or flush toilet Arts and entertainment * ''W.C.'' (film), an Irish feature film * WC (band), a Polish punk rock band * WC (rapper), a rapper from Los Angeles, California * Westside Connection, former hi ...
, the Marx Brothers, and Mae West. The Fields and Marx Brothers albums were narrated by radio personality and cartoon voice actor Gary Owens.


Country music

In 1934, Jack Kapp established a country & western line for the new Decca label by signing Frank Luther,
Sons of the Pioneers The Sons of the Pioneers are one of the United States' earliest Western singing groups. Known for their vocal performances, their musicianship, and their songwriting, they produced innovative recordings that have inspired many Western music perf ...
,
Stuart Hamblen Carl Stuart Hamblen (October 20, 1908 – March 8, 1989) was an American entertainer who became one of radio's first singing cowboys in 1926, going on to become a singer, actor, radio show host, and songwriter. He underwent a Christian conversion ...
, The Ranch Boys, and other popular acts based in both New York and Los Angeles. Louisiana singer/composer
Jimmie Davis James Houston Davis (September 11, 1899 – November 5, 2000) was an American politician, singer and songwriter of both sacred and popular songs. Davis was elected for two nonconsecutive terms from 1944 to 1948 and from 1960 to 1964 as the ...
began recording for Decca the same year, joined by western vocalists Jimmy Wakely and Roy Rogers in 1940. From the late 1940s on, the US arm of Decca had a sizeable roster of country artists, including Kitty Wells, Johnny Wright, Moon Mullican,
Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), m ...
, Webb Pierce, the Wilburn Brothers, Bobbejaan Schoepen, Red Foley and Lenny Dee. The main architect of Decca's success in country music was
Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sou ...
, who joined Decca in 1947 and was promoted to vice-president and head of A&R for the Nashville operations in 1958. Decca quickly became the main rival of RCA Records as the top label for American country music, and remained so for several decades.
Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sou ...
produced all of the music recorded by organist Lenny Dee. As part of a licensing agreement with
4 Star Records 4 Star Records was a record label that recorded many well-known country music acts in the 1950s. The label, founded after World War II, was home to singers such as Hank Locklin, Maddox Brothers and Rose, Rose Maddox, Webb Pierce, Cousin Ford Le ...
, Patsy Cline joined the Decca roster in 1956 (after releasing three singles on Decca's Coral Records subsidiary, under the same agreement, beginning in 1955). While Cline's contract was held by 4 Star, the deal allowed Decca complete control of the recording sessions, including choice of Producer and musicians. However, it also restricted the choice of material available for Cline to record to only songs published by 4 Star. This proved to be a stipulation which hampered her career for several years. Between 1955 and 1960, Cline recorded one album and multiple singles under the agreement, but saw limited chart success and very little money. In 1960, she signed directly with Decca. No longer bound by the restrictions of the 4 Star agreement, Cline went on to achieve tremendous success on both the Country and Pop charts. She recorded two more albums, and released numerous singles, before her untimely death in a 1963 plane crash. A number of posthumous singles and albums appeared in the years following. The Wilburn Brothers signed to the label in 1954, and were ultimately awarded a lifetime contract (20 years) in 1966. Doyle Wilburn negotiated a recording contract for Loretta Lynn, who signed to Decca in 1961 and remained with the label for over 25 years. Lynn was known as the "Decca Doll" until she became better known as the "Coal Miner's Daughter." Lynn also signed a lifetime contract in 1966. She was the biggest selling female country artist of the 1960s and 70s. MCA Nashville reactivated the Decca label in the US, as a subsidiary, in 1994.
Mark Chesnutt Mark Nelson Chesnutt (born September 6, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1990 and 1999, he had his greatest chart success recording for Universal Music Group Nashville's MCA and Decca branches, with a total of ei ...
was transferred to Decca from MCA Nashville, while Dawn Sears was the first new act signed. Other artists signed to the revived label included Rhett Akins, Lee Ann Womack, Gary Allan,
Rebecca Lynn Howard Rebecca Lynn Howard (born April 24, 1979) is an American country music artist. She has charted seven singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, and has released three studio albums. Her highest-charting single, "Forgive", peaked at N ...
and Dolly Parton. With the decline in the genre's popularity and the contraction taking place in the industry during the late 1990s, MCA Nashville closed the Decca subsidiary in early 1999 shortly after UMG's purchase of PolyGram. Chesnutt, Womack, Allan and Howard were shifted to the MCA Nashville roster, while all other Decca artists were released. In 2008, independent of UMG's Nashville operations, the Decca Music Group signed Country act One Flew South to the label. One album was released before the group departed. In the UK, Decca has signed several country acts in recent years including
Nathan Carter Nathan Kane Tyrone Carter (born 28 May 1990) is a British-born Irish country music singer based in the UK and Ireland. He has released thirteen studio albums and six live albums as of December 2022, five of which peaked at number one, and four ...
, Lucie Silvas, Imelda May, Andy Brown, Una Healy, The Wandering Hearts and The Shires.


Technology developments


Full frequency range recording (ffrr)

Full frequency range recording (ffrr) was a spin-off devised by
Arthur Haddy Arthur Charles William Haddy (16 May 1906 – 18 December 1989) was an English recording engineer. His work as Technical Director of the Decca Record Company Ltd. caused him to be nicknamed "the father of hi-fi". After working in the recordin ...
of British Decca's development, during the Second World War, of a high fidelity hydrophone capable of detecting and cataloguing individual
German submarines U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
by each one's signature engine noise, and enabled a greatly enhanced frequency range (high and low notes) to be captured on recordings. Critics regularly commented on the startling realism of the new Decca recordings. The frequency range of ffrr was 80–15000 Hz, with a
signal-to-noise ratio Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR or S/N) is a measure used in science and engineering that compares the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. SNR is defined as the ratio of signal power to the noise power, often expressed in deci ...
of 60 dB. While Decca's early ffrr releases on 78-rpm discs had some noticeable surface noise, which diminished the effects of the high fidelity sound, the introduction of long-playing records in 1949 made better use of the new technology and set an industry standard that was quickly imitated by Decca's competitors. Nonetheless, titles first issued on 78rpm remained in that form in the Decca catalogues into the early 1950s. The ffrr technique became internationally accepted and considered a standard. The Ernest Ansermet recording of
Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...
's '' Petrushka'' was key in the development of full frequency range records and alerting the listening public to high fidelity in 1946.


The LP

The long-playing record was launched in the US in 1948 by
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
(not connected with the
British company The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK or U.K.) or Britain, is a sovereign country located off the northwestern coast of the European mainland. It includes the island of Great Britain, th ...
of the same name at the time). It enabled recordings to play for up to half an hour without a break, compared with the 3 to 5 minutes playing time of the existing records. The new records were made of vinyl (the old discs were made of brittle shellac), which enabled the ffrr recordings to be transferred to disc very realistically. In 1949, in both the UK and the US, Decca took up the LP promptly and enthusiastically giving the British arm an enormous advantage over EMI, which for some years tried to stick exclusively to the old format, thereby forfeiting competitive advantage to Decca, both artistically and financially. British Decca recorded high fidelity versions of all the symphonies of
Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
except for the ninth, under the personal supervision of the composer, with
Sir Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, wi ...
and the
London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...
. Benjamin Britten conducted recordings of many of his compositions for Decca, from the 1940s to the 1970s; most of these recordings have been reissued on CD.


Stereo (ffss)

The British Decca recording engineers Arthur Haddy, Roy Wallace and Kenneth Wilkinson developed in 1954 the famous
Decca tree The Decca Tree is a spaced microphone array most commonly used for orchestral recording. It was originally developed as a sort of stereo A–B recording method adding a center fill. The technique was developed in the early 1950s and first commercia ...
, a stereo microphone recording system for big orchestras. Decca started the first actual stereophonic recording 13–28 May 1954, at Victoria Hall, Geneva, the first European record company to do so; only two months before,
RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
had begun the first actual stereophonic recording in the U.S., 6–8 March 1954. Decca archives show that Ernest Ansermet and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande recorded '' Antar'' by
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...
(Decca's official first actual stereo recording); ''
Stenka Razin Stepan Timofeyevich Razin (russian: Степа́н Тимофе́евич Ра́зин, ; 1630 – ), known as Stenka Razin ( ), was a Cossack leader who led a major uprising against the nobility and tsarist bureaucracy in southern Russia in 1 ...
'' by
Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov; ger, Glasunow (, 10 August 1865 – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 ...
; ''Tamara'' by Mily Balakirev;
Anatoly Liadov Anatoly Konstantinovich Lyadov (russian: Анато́лий Константи́нович Ля́дов; ) was a Russian composer, teacher, and conductor. Biography Lyadov was born in 1855 in St. Petersburg, into a family of eminent Russian ...
's '' Baba-Yaga'', ''Eight Russian Folksongs'', ''Kikimora''; and '' Le Martyre de saint Sébastien'' by
Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
. These performances were initially issued only in monaural sound; and in 1959, the stereo version of '' Le Martyre de saint Sébastien'' was issued only in the U.S. as London OSA 1104 (OS 25108); and stereo versions of others were finally issued from the late 1960s to the beginning of the 1970s as part of the ""Decca Eclipse"" series (in the UK) or "Stereo Treasury" series (in the U.S. on the London label). The Decca stereo format was called (in succession to ffrr) "ffss", i.e. "full frequency stereophonic sound". With most competitors not using stereo until 1957, the new technique was a distinctive feature of Decca. Even after stereo became standard and into the 1970s, Decca boasted a special sound quality, characterized by aggressive use of the highest and lowest frequencies, novel use of tape saturation and out-of-phase sound to convey a livelier hall ambiance, plus considerable bar-to-bar rebalancing by the recording staff of orchestral voices, known as "spotlighting". In the 1960s and 1970s, the company developed its "Phase 4" process which produced even greater sonic impact through even more interventionist engineering techniques. Big-band leader
Ted Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...
was an early pioneer of the Decca "Phase 4" sound. Decca recorded some quadrophonic masters that were released in Sansui's quadraphonic system called QS Regular Matrix.


Digital recording and mastering

Starting in late 1978, British Decca developed their own
digital audio Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, sa ...
recorders used in-house for recording, mixing, editing, and mastering albums. Each recorder consisted of a modified
IVC IVC can refer to: Places *Invercargill Airport, New Zealand, IATA code * Ivory Coast, UNDP country code *Oflag IV-C, a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp in Colditz Castle Education *Impington Village College *Irvine Valley College *Imperia ...
model 826P open-reel 1-inch
VTR A video tape recorder (VTR) is a tape recorder designed to record and playback video and audio material from magnetic tape. The early VTRs were open-reel devices that record on individual reels of 2-inch-wide (5.08 cm) tape. They were us ...
, connected to a custom codec unit with time code capability (using a proprietary time code developed by Decca), as well as outboard DAC and
ADC ADC may refer to: Science and medicine * ADC (gene), a human gene * AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS * Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer * Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatment ...
units connected to the codec unit. The codec recorded audio to tape in 18 bits linear PCM at 48 kHz, with a maximum of eight channels. Later versions of the system used 20-bit recording. With the exception of the IVC VTRs (which were modified to Decca's specifications by IVC's UK division in Reading), all the electronics for these systems were developed and manufactured in-house by Decca (and by contractors to them as well). These digital systems were used for mastering most of Decca's classical music releases to both LP and CD, and were used well into the late 1990s. After the start of the new century, Decca became actively involved in pioneering a new generation of high-resolution and multi-channel recordings, including "Super Audio CD" (SACD) and "DVD-Audio" (DVD-A) formats. Decca is now routinely mastering new recordings in these formats.


Decca Special Products

Decca Special Products developed a number of products for the audio marketplace. These include: * The Decca Ribbon tweeter * Decca London phonograph cartridges: The Decca phono cartridges were a unique design, with fixed magnets and coils. The stylus shaft was composed of the diamond tip, a short piece of soft iron, and an L-shaped cantilever made of non-magnetic steel. Since the iron was placed very close to the tip (within 1 mm), the motions of the tip could be tracked very accurately. Decca engineers called this "positive scanning". Vertical and lateral compliance was controlled by the shape and thickness of the cantilever. Decca cartridges had a reputation for being very musical; however, early versions required more tracking force than competitive designs – making record wear a concern * The Decca International tone arm: The Decca International tone arms were fluid-damped unipivot designs. They were designed to complement the Decca phono cartridges. They would enjoy a brief renaissance in the 21st century as they were almost a drop-in replacement for the pick-up arms of Lenco GL75 record turntables from the 1970s. The arm damping was via a viscous silicone fluid held in a well, and magnetic repelling force supported the arm, and provided anti-skate (bias compensation). New Old Stock arms rapidly sold out by 2008 as vintage hifi enthusiasts sought them for refurbishment projects. * The Decca Record Brush. The idea of using carbon fibre (CF) to clean LPs came from Tristan Cooper who obtained some CF for use in his GRP racing car body. CF is very fine, stiff, and conducts electricity, making it ideal for cleaning narrow record grooves and conducting away any static electricity build-up. Tristan's brother Warwick developed the manufacturing process for the brushes, producing hundreds of thousands of "Million Bristle" CF brushes under the Decca brand. Decca Special Products was spun off, and is now known as London Decca. The American branch of Decca also marketed its own line of home audio equipment.


Later history

American Decca bought Universal-International in 1952, and eventually merged with MCA Inc. in 1962, becoming a subsidiary company under MCA. Dissatisfied with American Decca's promotion of British Decca recordings and because American Decca held the rights to the name Decca in the US and Canada, British Decca sold its records in the United States and Canada under the label
London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
beginning in 1947. In Britain, London Records became a mighty catch-all licensing label for foreign recordings from the nascent post-WW II American independent and semi-major labels such as Cadence, Dot, Chess, Atlantic, Imperial and Liberty. Conversely, British Decca retained a non-reciprocal right to license and issue American Decca recordings in the UK on their Brunswick (US Decca recordings) and Coral (US Brunswick and Coral recordings) labels; this arrangement continued until 1967 when a UK branch of MCA was established utilising the MCA Records label, with distribution fluctuating between British Decca and other English companies over time. In Canada, the
Compo Company Compo Company Ltd. was Canada's first independent record company. The Compo Company was founded in 1918 in Lachine, Quebec, by Herbert Berliner, an executive of Berliner Gramophone of Canada and the oldest son of disc record inventor Emile Berli ...
was reorganised into MCA Records (Canada) in 1970. The Decca name was dropped by MCA in America in 1973 in favour of the MCA Records label. The first-run American Decca label's final release, "
Drift Away "Drift Away" is a song by Mentor Williams written in 1970 and originally recorded by John Henry Kurtz on his 1972 album ''Reunion''. Mentor Williams was a country songwriter, and John Henry Kurtz was an actor and swamp rock singer. It was later ...
" by Dobie Gray (label No. 33057), reached No. 5 on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' chart and received gold record status.
PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...
acquired the remains of Decca UK within days of Sir Edward Lewis's death in January 1980. British Decca's pop catalogue was taken over by Polydor Records. Ironically, PolyGram descended from British Decca's former Dutch distributor Hollandsche Decca Distributie. In Taiwan, PolyGram acquired 60% of Linfair Magnetic Sound (founded in 1961) in 1992, and renamed to Decca Records Taiwan. The name remains until 2002, when it decided to sell its 60 percent stake, and changed its name to Linfair Records, making the company independent from Universal Music. In addition to Decca label, Linfair Records also distribute V2 Records' releases, and some independent labels. However, Linfair Records' releases outside Taiwan will continue to be released internationally via Universal Music. The Decca label is currently in use by Universal Music Group worldwide; this is possible because Universal Studios (which officially dropped the MCA name after the Seagram buyout in 1996) acquired PolyGram, British Decca's parent company in 1998, thus consolidating Decca trademark ownership. In the US, the Decca country music label was shut down and the London classical label was renamed as it was able to use the Decca name for the first time because of the merger that created Universal Music. In 1999, Decca absorbed Philips Records to create the Decca Music Group (half of Universal Music Classics Group in the US, with Deutsche Grammophon being the other half). Today, Decca is a leading label for both classical music and Broadway scores although it is branching out into pop music from established recording stars: in 2007 its '' Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA'' by
Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...
reached No. 27 on the
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
Top 200 Albums chart. In 2007 they won the race to sign English teen jazz sensation Victoria Hart and released her first album ''Whatever Happened to Romance'' in July. In December 2007, it was announced that
Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
would be joining the Decca roster. In August 2009, it was revealed that American Idol alum, Clay Aiken, had signed with Decca. It reentered the American country music scene in 2008. There are two Universal Music label groups now using the Decca name. The Decca Label Group is the US label whereas the London-based Decca Music Group runs the international classical and pop releases by such world-famous performers as Andrea Bocelli and
Hayley Westenra Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand classical crossover singer and songwriter. Her first internationally released album, ''Pure'', reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million c ...
. The London Records pop label that was established in the UK in 1990, run by Roger Ames, and distributed by PolyGram became part of Warner Music Group in 2000 when he was hired to run that company. Universal Music reacquired trademark rights in 2011, and Warner Records 90 Ltd. (formerly London Records 90), a company that controlled most of London's post-1980 catalogue, was acquired by French company Because Music in 2017. They started licensing "London Recordings" name and logo from UMG, and Warner Records 90 was renamed London Music Stream Ltd. It is also the distributing label of POINT Music, a joint venture between Universal and
Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
's Euphorbia Productions that folded shortly after the merger that created Universal Music. Ironically, the American Decca classical music catalogue is managed by sister Universal label Deutsche Grammophon. They include the recordings of guitarist Andrés Segovia. Before Deutsche Grammophon founded its own American branch in 1969, it had a distribution deal with American Decca until 1962 when distribution switched to
MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...
.
Éditions de l'Oiseau-Lyre Éditions de l'Oiseau-Lyre (commonly referred to as L'Oiseau-Lyre) is a French music publishing company and a classical music record label that specialises in Early and Baroque music. It was founded in 1932 as a publisher of scholarly editions ...
is a wholly owned subsidiary specialising in European classical music of the 15th to 19th centuries. American Decca's jazz catalogue is managed by GRP Records, an imprint of Verve Records. The American Decca rock/pop catalogue is managed by Geffen Records. American distribution of British Decca's rock/pop catalogue is handled by
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
. The Decca Broadway imprint is used for both newly recorded musical theatre songs and Universal Music Group's vast catalogues of musical theatre recordings from record labels UMG and predecessor companies acquired over the years. On 10 January 2011, Universal Music Group, which owns the masters to Decca Records, announced that it was donating 200,000 of its master recordings from the 1920s to the 1940s to the United States Library of Congress. The collection of master recordings will be cleaned and digitised. Included in this group are Bing Crosby's original recording of 'White Christmas' and thousands more by Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Judy Garland, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, the Andrews Sisters and other famous and lesser-known musicians who recorded during this time period. Because of this transaction, once the Library has organised and cleaned the collection, the public will eventually have some degree of access to thousands of recordings that have been commercially unavailable for decades. According to the ''Los Angeles Times'', " part of the agreement between UMG and the library, Universal retains ownership of the recording copyrights and the right to exploit the cleaned-up and digitized files for commercial purposes." Today, Decca distributes UMG's jazz holdings led by
Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...
and Verve Records along with the classical music holdings led by Decca Classics, Philips Records and Deutsche Grammophon. It also distributes recordings from the
Concord Music Group Concord Music Group was an American independent music company based in Beverly Hills, California, with worldwide (including the U.S.) distribution through Universal Music Group. The company specialized in recordings ( Fearless Records, Concord R ...
and
Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...
.


Decca matrix prefixes

The following
matrix Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...
prefixes were used by Decca:"Decca/London Phase Four Recordings – Part V: Decoding the Inner Groove Information," ''
The Absolute Sound ''The Absolute Sound'' (TAS) is an American audiophile magazine which reviews high-end audio equipment, along with recordings and comments on various music-related subjects. History ''The Absolute Sound'' was founded in 1973 by Harry Pearson, ...
'', Vol. 11, No. 42, July–August 1986, pps. 181, 182;
Key : A = classical : Z = stereo : L = London : Xxxx = external recording


See also

Selected affiliated labels * Brunswick Records * Coral Records *
Deram Records Deram Records was a subsidiary record label of Decca Records established in the United Kingdom in 1966. At the time, U.K. Decca was a different company from the Decca label in the United States, which was owned by MCA Inc. Deram recordings w ...
* Geffen Records * Threshold Records Personnel and staff *
Owen Bradley William Owen Bradley (October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998) was an American musician and record producer who, along with Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson, Bill Porter, and Don Law, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sou ...
(1915–1998), head of Decca's Nashville operation and credited with helping to create the Nashville sound * Paul Cohen (record producer), Paul Cohen (1908–1970), longtime executive widely attributed for helping Nashville flourish in the recording industry * Milt Gabler (1911–2001), American Decca executive and producer from 1941 to 1971 * Henry Jerome (1917–2011), music director at Decca Records in the early 1950s; and A&R director for Coral Records beginning late 1960s * Jack Kapp (1901–1949), American Decca founder * Edward Lewis (1900–1980), financier who led Decca recording group for 5 decades * Tony Meehan (1943–2005), drummer turned A&R * Mitch Miller (1911–2010), joined Decca in 1965 * Alex Wharton, Alex Murray (born 1939), A&R * Milton Rackmil (1906–1992) American Decca head from 1949 to 1972 * Dick Rowe (1921–1986), A&R executive * Nat Tarnopol (1931–1987), former president of Brunswick Records * Bob Thiele (1922–1996), headed Coral Records


Notes


References

* * - See the chapter on "Getting on Record", pp. 62–75, about the early record industry and Fred Gaisberg and Walter Legge and ffrr (Full Frequency Range Recording). *


External links


Official website

Decca Gold official site

Decca Classics official site

Decca Broadway official site

Decca Records US official site



Decca West Africa series
at British Library
Decca Classical Discography, 1929–2009
at Internet Archive *
Decca Classical Discography, 1929–2009
at Arts and Humanities Research Council, AHRC Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music (CHARM) {{Authority control Decca Records, American record labels British record labels Classical music record labels Companies based in New York City Jazz record labels Labels distributed by Universal Music Group Record labels established in 1929 1929 establishments in the United Kingdom Record labels established in 1934 1934 establishments in the United States MCA Records